HUNTSVILLE, Alabama --Huntsville native and Atlanta-based hip-hop artist Translee will come home to
perform for the 20th Annual Black Arts Festival. The festival, sponsored by WEUP-AM/FM
radio station, will resume this weekend after being cancelled in 2009.

Whether it's performing at SXSW and freestyling in the presence of Kendrick Lamar, Pusha T, and T.I. or collaborating with Gorilla Zoe and
Raheem DeVaughn, the University of North Alabama graduate is steadily building
his buzz around the country.

He hopes to finish his third solo project, “Cultur3 Junky” later this summer.

What’s it like being asked to perform at an event you and your friends have such strong memories of?

The Black Arts Festival was like a staple to me. We used to always get ready every year to get our cars shined up just for that day to ride around. I’m excited to come back home to Huntsville and see all my friends and just catch the vibes of the city because this city made me who I am.

You’re quite vocal about representing your hometown. On your sophomore mixtape, “Who’s Translee,” you have a track dedicated to the city titled “HSV 256.” Which local hip-hop artists did you draw inspiration from growing up?

I used to listen to Lapone and Slow Motion a lot in high school. Lapone’s main member, Chris Pride is actually the guy that’s on the “256” record. I looked up to him for so long growing up. I had the whole record done and I originally had a second verse, but I hit him up and he was excited to do it, so it was a good thing. Every time I come home, the responses I get are phenomenal.

You and your manager, Chris Hunter, got to connect with the Atlanta-based producer, Mr. Collipark at a Ying Yang Twins concert. He ended up signing you to his label, Collipark Music. How did that happen?

He ended up letting us come down and intern in 2009. In 2008, I was still working in Florence at a hotel. We basically dropped everything we had and moved down here to Atlanta. In 2011 is when he really took notice to my music and ended up signing me. The relationship with Collipark has been one of just helping me grow and build a fan base.

Outside of Huntsville, who inspires you in your work?

Definitely Kendrick [Lamar], definitely Lupe [Fiasco], Wale, Jay-Z, T.I. Outkast, Adele, Nas, and J. Cole. I like music where you’ll be thinking about it for a while and getting something new out of it every time you listen to it. That’s the type of artist that I want to be.

You can be quite transparent and introspective in your storytelling, yet playful and witty. Is it hard to try to describe to people what type of artist you are? Do people find it difficult to figure out your style?

I get that mostly from producers. There are all types of cultures. There’s the religious culture, there’s pop culture, there’s the music culture, there’s drug culture. I like to feel like I’m a part of all of that. I’m pretty much a culture junkie. I don’t wake up feeling the same way every day. Some days I wake up feeling like talking about certain things and some days I feel like talking about other things. I feel like a large part of the population dabbles in a little bit of everything and I see my music as representative of that.